How to Have a Healthy School Year: From Kindergarten to Graduate School

How to Have a Healthy School Year: From Kindergarten to Graduate School

Posted on 08/28/2014 at 08:31:53 AM by Student Blogger

By Debbie Fetter

Summer is quickly disappearing and school is right around the
corner. Or, as the graduate students are thinking, what is summer
anymore? Regardless, the beginning of school brings new
responsibilities and puts time management skills to the test. One
thing that often seems to fall by the wayside is healthy living.
With a little bit of planning, this doesn't have to be the
case.

The Dietary Guidelines Alliance (DGA) recently released a campaign
with a mission of taking charge of diet and overall health,
rightfully titled, “It's
All About You.” The campaign emphasizes the key to
maintaining a healthy lifestyle is to be realistic, active,
balanced, adventurous, and sensible. Under each of these
components, the DGA offers helpful tidbits designed to assist with
goal setting. So, let's have some fun and relate this resource to
the typical graduate student lifestyle. [Keeping in mind, this tool
is equally helpful for parents, caregivers, and others seeking to
make healthy living easy].

Be realistic: Just like how you're probably not
going to be able to write your dissertation in a week, you can make
small changes over time. Set small goals for yourself, such as
walking or biking to campus, packing fruit and vegetables to snack
on, or choosing whole grain foods.

Be Active: As students, we spend way too much time
hunched over a desk or staring at a computer screen until our eyes
start tearing. Come up with a physical activity goal each week and
track your progress using a tool, such as SuperTracker.
Schedule workouts, just as you would schedule meetings. Set a
reminder every hour to get up and do a short circuit (i.e. jumping
jacks, push ups, a lap around the hallway, etc.). Get some much
needed socialization with a walking date. The possibilities are
endless!

Graduate students surprisingly taking a running break instead
of a wine break.

Be Balanced: Although we rarely feel balanced (hello
looming stress levels), we can still find balance with our eating
and activity. Figure out how many calories your body needs each day
here
and use a food and activity tracker, such as MyFitnessPal to
effortlessly keep count.

Be Adventurous: Healthy living should never be boring!
Pick up a new vegetable and incorporate it into a meal. Find
healthy recipe inspiration in cookbooks or online. Choose a day to
prepare food for the week, so you'll have nutritious food on hand.
Center meals around vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein
sources. Escape from the grind and take a scenic walk or hike. Or,
find a brave soul to do acrobatic yoga with you (please don't pick
me).

Be Sensible: Graduate students choose to be in school
forever, clearly we're not sensible people. Okay, okay, but we can
make sensible food choices by reading the Nutrition Facts Label,
cutting back on added sugars, adding flavor with spices, and
choosing to cook with unsaturated oils (i.e. olive oil, yum!). I
guess we can limit the trips to taco bell too.

As summer comes to a close, we don't have to fear losing our
healthy eating habits and behaviors. Now, my biggest fear is the
undergraduate students...